


Ikigai

by siderealSandman



Series: Sabbatical [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Scientist Zelda > Princess Zelda, identity crisis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26335045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siderealSandman/pseuds/siderealSandman
Summary: Link watched her deflate as she finally confronted the thing she had been running from for weeks. “Maybe Hyrule doesn’t need Princess Zelda anymore...maybe it never did. Maybe it’s best to let the old kingdom just...lie”Zelda took a deep breath, looking at him with such a lost and scared look that he felt his heart ache on her behalf. “I just wish I knew what was to become of me…”
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Sabbatical [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913656
Comments: 8
Kudos: 134





	Ikigai

If anything, Zelda seemed to be growing quieter and more withdrawn by the day. 

At first, she had gleefully donned the mantle of diplomat, charming the Goron and Zora with years of practiced diplomacy. Her rambling, disjointed speeches on Hyrule’s reconstruction grew less animated and more  _ insistent  _ as time passed. As though she were convincing herself as much as Link that her scheme to reunite the fractured land post-Calamity would succeed. 

There was a kind of quiet desperation to the way Zelda spoke that made Link a little uneasy. When pressed she would laugh, brush him off, and busy herself with her journal or a book she borrowed from Purah. Trying to reach her when she had so clearly withdrawn was like chopping the Deku Tree down with a butter knife. At least that would yield  _ some  _ progress; the more he pushed at Zelda, the more withdrawn, deflective, and forcibly cheerful she seemed to get. 

In some ways, Zelda was like a great oak tree; immovable and unbreakable until it very suddenly was not. 

* * *

“Tarrey Town?” Zelda asked, brow knitting in confusion. “I don’t seem to recall a town like that anywhere in my records.” 

_ <It’s new,> _ Link signed with a small smirk.  _ <Helped put it up myself.> _

“You?” Zelda’s brows nearly cleared her browline. Link’s journey outside the Calamity’s influence came to her in fits and bursts; usually flashes of combat or lonely nights spent staring out over Hyrule’s expanse. The fact that he had a life in the few months he had spent taking down the Calamity’s forces was known to her...she just didn’t think he had time to erect an entire town. 

_ <When I came back...I had to get stronger,> _ Link said, tapping the Master Sword with his fingertips.  _ <She didn’t want me at first...I had to prove myself to her again. Trained with Hudson; hauling lumber and stuff.> _

“Efficient,” Zelda said, privately cursing the fact that she had missed snippets of Link working out. “I didn’t think people were constructing new settlements after the Calamity.” 

Link shrugged. < _ At some point, I think they had to move on.> _

“Mm,” Zelda said non-committedly, polishing off the last of her riceball and dusting her hands on her pants. “Well, I suppose that’s…that’s comforting then.” 

Link frowned, raising his hands as Zelda fished the Sheikah Slate out. “Alright, which shrine gets us closest?” 

* * *

It would have been faster to fly, but Zelda still hadn’t gotten used to diving off cliffs with only a flimsy piece of fabric to protect her from smashing against the ground. So the walk to Tarry Town gave her plenty of time to see what the people of Hyrule had done without her. 

Around the edge of the island where the center of town had sprung up, the bare-bones structure of houses and farms were under construction, people coming and going with supplies or weaponry to fend off any oncoming attacks. A ring of stones on the valley floor created what looked to be the foundation for a wall that would one day rise to circle their growing town. As they grew closer, Zelda’s hands eventually found their way to his arm, gripping on to him for support or comfort as they made their way down the path towards the city. 

A  _ city _ . 

Zelda had pictured a few ramshackle buildings; the  _ beginnings  _ of civilization, not civilization itself. She had thought she could be of help getting the town up on its feet only to see it standing high above her, casting a cold shadow on her as they passed under the rock formation. 

“Did the local governor permit this?” Zelda asked before she realized the absurdity of her statement. Lady Seres and her family had all likely perished in the Calamity; the place where their stately manor once stood swept clean by the passage of time. The concept of property, policy, and propriety seemed somehow absurd in a world where everything had gone to hell; as though titles meant  _ anything  _ after Ganon struck. 

_ <Do they need to fill out paperwork?> _ Link asked with a teasing smile; a question that sent chills running down her back to pool in the pit of her stomach. Zelda stopped in her tracks, arm tugging free of Link’s grip as they approached a small crowd of workers milling around a pile of lumber. Her eyes were wide, breath coming in short bursts as she took a step backwards. 

“I’m...I’m sorry, I think-” Zelda swallowed, shaking her head as she noticed the clear concern on Link’s face. “Sorry, just needed to catch my breath.” 

Link’s frown only deepened, taking a step closer to her as a familiar looking Gerudo woman approached them, hand resting on a clearly pregnant stomach. 

“”Hoy!” Rhondson called, waving them over with a smile. “We hoped you were coming!” 

Rhondson’s eyes drifted from Link to the strange Hylian vai that somehow looked like she was torn between introducing herself and running like a startled doe. 

“Your friend?” Rhondson asked, raising an eyebrow as Link shook his head. 

“Um...n-not exactly…” Link said, voice strained and quiet from disuse as he glanced at Zelda. 

“Zelda,” Zelda said bluntly, smile plastering across most of her face and stepping past Link who didn’t fail to notice the lack of  _ Princess  _ on the front of her name. “I’ve, uh...heard about your settlement from Link and I wanted to see it for myself.” 

Link’s stony silence did nothing to mask the suspicion and confusion in his eyes as she saddled up alongside him, gripping on to his arm as Rhondson sent Link a teasing smile. 

“Well, a lot has happened since you were last here, Mr. Hero,” Rhondson said, leading them through a ramshackle construction site as Zelda took everything in quietly, eyes flickering over the faces of Hylian, Goron, and even a few Gerudo workers. “We had to relax the naming convention a little; Hudson finally relented after we reminded him there wasn’t enough people named like us in the world. I think part of him was hoping you’d put roots down here one day as well.” 

Link glanced at Zelda, clearing his throat as she took the lead. Link despised using his voice unless absolutely necessary; his silent method of communication spoken only by Zora and only then underwater. 

“Do you have plans to expand much further?” Zelda asked, following Rhondson across the bridge into the center of town proper. “It’s only that...well, with Castle Town free of the Calamity, I would think building there would be easier, wouldn’t it?” 

“Even if the Demon King is gone,” Rhondson said, spitting as most Gerudo did when mentioning the Calamity. “The land he held for over a hundred years is bound to be stuffed with curses by now. I wouldn’t birth my girl there if you drowned me in Rupees. Not to mention those creepy statue things are still over there.” 

“Freed from the Calamity’s influence,” Zelda said, coughing as Rhondson turned to look at her. “I’m sure...so I’ve heard.” 

“Not taking that chance,” Rhondson said with a shake of her head. “No point in trying to resurrect an old town full of ghosts and bad memories; best to leave the past buried with the old royals that lived there.” 

LInk glanced at Zelda out of the corner of his eye, waiting for her to say something. But where he was willfully silent, Zelda seemed to have been deserted by any argument she wanted to make, mouth hanging open and eyes glazed over as Rhondson steered them around town. The more they saw, the more unsettled Zelda seemed to become, breath coming in slow, deliberate breaths that seemed to be forestalling something awful. 

He turned his back for a split second, and she was gone, a flash of light on the hill overlooking the town catching his eye. 

* * *

He found her bunched under a tree overlooking the valley, knees pulled up to her chest and back pressed against the rough bark as red-rimmed eyes stared mournfully out in front of her. Wordlessly, he approached her from the corner of her eye, making her aware of his presence before he sat down on the other side of the tree. 

“I’m sorry…” Zelda muttered after a moment, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand. “That was foolish of me…” 

“Mm,” Link hummed as though he were reluctant to agree with her. 

“I just felt like I was...coming apart,” Zelda sniffed. “And I didn’t want to do it in front of strangers.” 

“Mm,” Link hummed again, shifting around the tree until he sat by her side, hips touching as she reached out to him for reassurance. Their custom of sharing a bed had lowered some of the physical boundaries between them; it spoke of something they each knew but weren’t ready to address just yet. Not when so much was uncertain outside of their little nest in Hateno Village. 

“They’re doing beautifully, aren’t they?” Zelda said with a watery chuckle. “All of them...they’re all doing so well. And it’s good...it’s better than I could have imagined but…” 

Link reached out, giving her leg a reassuring squeeze as she tried to piece together her thoughts. 

“I thought…” Zelda let out a deep breath, shaking her head. “I don’t know what I thought...I didn’t think my kingdom would dry up and die without my family to lead it but…” 

She drew up her knees to her chest, blinking back tears as she watched the world move on without her in the valley below. “I thought I would at least be needed...or wanted. I thought I would have a place in the world I had helped protect but…” 

Link watched her deflate as she finally confronted the thing she had been running from for weeks. “Maybe Hyrule doesn’t need Princess Zelda anymore...maybe it never did. Maybe it’s best to let the old kingdom just...lie” 

Zelda took a deep breath, looking at him with such a lost and scared look that he felt his heart ache on her behalf. “I just wish I knew what was to become of me…” 

The wind rippled past them, sending flower petals tumbling through the grass as Zelda seemed too lost and tired to properly cry anymore. Link stumbled for the right words to say for a moment, starting and stopping several times before crouching down in front of her. 

_ <What if one day you realized you weren’t meant to be a princess?> _ Link signed, watching Zelda’s red-rimmed eyes trace the motion of his hands.  _ <Would you choose a different path?> _

Zelda let out a weary chuckle, looking away in embarrassment. “You shouldn’t use my own words against me like that…” 

_ <Even if you’re right?> _ Link countered. Zelda was silent for a long moment, listening to the revelers carry on down the hill with a wistful look in her eye. 

“It feels like...giving up,” Zelda said slowly. “Like I’m just...walking away from everything my family has ever done; letting my parents down, I expect...even though they’re gone and there’s no one left to be disappointed in my choices I still feel...obligated to try and set things back to the way they used to be. As though I’m some sort of failure if I don’t…” 

Link started signing something. “I know,” Zelda chuckled. “I know I’ve done something nobody else in the world can do; I know I’ve helped save the world from the Calamity and ensured that Hyrule lives to see another year, but-” 

_ <It’s hard to become someone else,> _ Link signed, watching Zelda nod distantly.  _ <Even if that’s someone you want to be.> _

“And if I don’t know what I want to be?” Zelda asked, watching Link stand up and brush his trousers off. 

_ <Then we can figure that out,> _ Link signed, offering her his hand as the last word left his fingertips. Zelda looked at his rough, calloused fingertips for a moment, head tilting to one side as she reached out and took it, hauling herself to her feet with a sigh. 

“Impa won’t be happy,” Zelda said, eyes widening as Link signed something exceptionally rude. “ _ Link!”  _

Grabbing her hand, he tugged her back up the hill towards the glowing Sheikah shrine above them. “Wait, what about Tarry Town?” 

Link shrugged, holding the Sheikah slate up to the eye on the front as the doors opened, the elevator rising seamlessly from the earth beneath her feet. He watched her eyes widen in curiosity, taking a step forward before glancing at him with an uncertain smile. 

“Isn’t it dangerous?” Zelda asked. Link tapped the sword hilt on his back with a smile that could almost be mistaken for smug. “Of course…” 

_ <You don’t want to?> _ Link asked, taking a step backwards. _ <I get it; it’s nerdy stuff. Probably not interested.> _

Zelda’s brow creased into a scowl that didn’t reach the stubborn smile on her lips, marching into the cool, dark elevator and insistently looking back at her would-be guardian. “Well?” 

Link stepped into the elevator, nudging her with his shoulder as the door closed and the elevator took them deeper into the earth. Surrounded by ancient technology she could spend the next hundred years studying, with Link’s shoulder brushing up against hers, Zelda felt a little less unsure of her place in this new Hyrule she had helped save. 


End file.
